Echinacea plant named &#39;Hot Lava&#39;

ABSTRACT

A new and distinct  Echinacea  plant named ‘Hot Lava’ characterized by large, orange red inflorescences with prominent dark cones, well-branched upright flower stalks, and excellent vigor.

Botanical denomination: Echinacea hybrid

Variety designation: ‘Hot Lava’

The present invention relates to a new and distinct cultivar ofEchinacea and given the cultivar name ‘Hot Lava’. Echinacea is in thefamily Asteraceae. This new cultivar originated as a fourth generationseedling from a planned breeding program using the parents Echinaceaparadoxa and Echinacea purpurea ‘Ruby Giant’ for the initial cross. Theexact parents of this selection are unknown, unnamed proprietary,unreleased plants.

This new Echinacea cultivar is distinguished by:

1. Large, orange red inflorescences with prominent dark cones

2. Well-branched upright flower stalks

3. Excellent vigor

This new cultivar has been reproduced only by asexual propagation(division and tissue culture). Each of the progeny exhibits identicalcharacteristics to the original plant. Asexual propagation by divisionand tissue culture using standard micropropagation techniques withterminal and lateral shoots, as done in Canby, Oreg., shows that theforegoing characteristics and distinctions come true to form and areestablished and transmitted through succeeding propagations. The presentinvention has not been evaluated under all possible environmentalconditions. The phenotype may vary with variations in environmentwithout a change in the genotype of the plant.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING

FIG. 1 shows the flowers of Echinacea ‘Hot Lava’ on a plant growing inthe ground in full sun in the field in late summer in Canby, Oreg.

FIG. 2 shows a habit shot of a one-year-old plant in the summer in thetrial bed in Canby, Oreg.

DETAILED PLANT DESCRIPTION

The following is a detailed description of the new Echinacea cultivarbased on observations of 18-month old specimens growing in the ground inthe field in full sun in the trial bed under typical outdoor conditionsin Canby, Oreg. The plants had been moved from one trial field toanother the fall before. Canby is in Zone 8 on the USDA Hardiness mapTemperatures range from a high of 95 degrees F. in August to an averageof 32 degrees F. in January. Normal rainfall in Canby is 42.8 inches peryear in the trial fields in Canby, Oreg. The color descriptions are allbased on The Royal Horticultural Society Colour Chart, fifth edition.

-   Plant:    -   -   Type.—herbaceous perennial.        -   Hardiness.—USDA Zones 4 to 9.        -   Size.—grows to 68 cm wide and 82 cm tall to top of flowers.        -   Form.—basal clump.        -   Vigor.—excellent.        -   Roots.—roots develop easily from cuttings from the crown.-   Stem (flowering):    -   -   Type.—ascending.        -   Size.—branching up to 6 times to 55 cm tall (to the upper            most leaves) and 7 mm wide at base.        -   Number of stems from the crown.—12.        -   Internode length.—4 to 12 cm.        -   Surface texture.—strigose.        -   Color.—Yellow Green 146B mottled with Yellow Green 145C.-   Leaf (basal):    -   -   Type.—simple.        -   Shape.—lanceolate.        -   Arrangement.—basal.        -   Blade size.—grows to 14 cm long and 5 cm wide.        -   Margins.—entire.        -   Apex.—acute.        -   Base.—attenuate.        -   Surface texture.—strigose on both sides.        -   Venation.—pinnate.        -   Color.—topside, Green 137A with the vein Green 138C and            bottom side closest to Yellow Green 137B with the vein Green            138C.        -   Petiole description.—grows to 13 cm long and 4 mm wide,            glabrous, Yellow Green 146C.-   Leaf (stem):    -   -   Type.—simple.        -   Shape.—ovate to lanceolate.        -   Arrangement.—alternate.        -   Blade size.—grows to 9.5 cm long and 4.5 cm wide.        -   Margins.—coarsely serrate.        -   Apex.—acute to acuminate.        -   Base.—attenuate, continuing down petiole, clasping.        -   Surface texture.—strigose on both sides.        -   Venation.—pinnate.        -   Color.—topside, Yellow Green 147A with the vein Yellow Green            147B and bottom side closest to Yellow Green 147B with the            vein Yellow Green 145B.        -   Petiole description.—grows to 1 cm long and 4 mm wide,            strigose, Yellow Green 145B on back and top side Yellow            Green 146B tinted Greyed Orange 166A.-   Inflorescence:    -   -   Type.—composite on terminal stalked heads.        -   Number of flowering stems per plant in summer.—12 from the            crown, some branching.        -   Flowering stem.—grows to 80 cm tall from the base of the            plant to the terminal flower and can grow to 27 cm long from            the top leaf to the base of a flower head; branched, 1 to 6            inflorescences per stem; diameter growing to 5 mm wide near            the flower head; strigose, Yellow Green 146B mottled with            Yellow Green 145C.        -   Size.—grows to 12 cm wide and 4.5 cm deep as disc enlarges.        -   Form.—ray florets held mostly perpendicular to the stem,            some dropping down slightly; mature disc is conic.        -   Immature inflorescence.—3.5 cm wide and 2.2 cm deep, ray            florets held at a 45 degree angle and rolled up so only the            back color shows, Red Purple 64A.        -   Ray florets.—without pistil or stamen, 20 to 25 in number,            oblanceolate with the tip cupped and 2 to 3 toothed (each            acute), entire margins, base attenuate, grows to 5 cm long            and 11 mm wide, glabrous on both sides; sometimes with            upward projections from base, to 18 mm long and 2 mm wide;            topside color when first fully open Greyed Orange 169A            darkening to a bicolor of Greyed Orange 169A on the top to            Red 45A near the cone, mature ray florets Greyed Orange 173B            on top ⅔ and Greyed Purple 187D on bottom ⅓; bottom side            Greyed Purple 186B to C.        -   Disc.—slightly convex becoming conic, becoming 35 mm deep            and 40 mm wide with maturity, color from outside in Greyed            Purple 187B on old bracts and new bract tips, Yellow Orange            23B on younger bracts, and Yellow Green 147A as the base            color.        -   Disc florets.—about 450 in number, with pistil and stamen,            10 mm long and 1.5 mm wide, each with one persistent, very            stiff bract (12 mm long and Greyed Purple 187A on tip to            Yellow Orange 23B, Yellow Green 146C on middle ⅓, White            NN155B on bottom ⅓); corolla 6 mm long and 1.5 mm wide, 5            lobed, glabrous, Yellow Green 146D with Greyed Purple 187A            on lobes, pistil 11 mm long, ovary 4 mm long, White NN155A,            style 5 mm long, Greyed Purple 187A with an extruding,            2-branched stigma spreading 2.5 mm wide, Greyed Purple 187;            stamen 4 in number, 6 mm long, anthers 2.5 mm long and            Greyed Purple N186A, filaments 3.5 mm long, Yellow Green            145D, pollen Yellow Orange 14B.        -   Phyllaries.—in 4 leafy series, area 35 mm wide and 17 mm            deep, lobes lanceolate in shape, reflexed, grow to 13 mm            long and 3 mm wide, margins strigose, tip acute, Yellow            Green 147A.        -   Receptacle.—grows to 12 mm wide and 20 mm deep, White 155B.        -   Bloom period.—July through October in Canby, Oreg.        -   Fragrance.—light, floral.        -   Lastingness.—each inflorescence lasts about two weeks in            Canby, Oreg.-   Seeds: average number of 10 seeds/head, each 5 mm long and 2.5 mm    wide, oval, Greyed Green 197A    -   -   Fertility.—low.-   Disease and pests: Echinacea are susceptible to leaf miners, powdery    mildew, bacterial spots, and gray mold. None of these have been    observed on plants grown under commercial conditions in Canby, Oreg.    No resistance is known.

COMPARISONS TO SIMILAR ECHINACEA

Compared to Echinacea ‘Tiki Torch’ (U.S. Plant Pat. No. 18,839), the newcultivar has a flower that is redder.

Compared to Echinacea ‘Tomato Soup’ (U.S. Plant Pat. No. 19,427), thenew cultivar has more orange in the flower and fades to a bicolor ratherthan being red and fading to a dull red.

Compared to Echinacea ‘Sunset’ (U.S. Plant Pat. No. 16,424), the newvariety has larger flowers with deeper orange red color.

1. A new and distinct Echinacea plant as herein illustrated anddescribed.